Friday, August 17, 2012

A One Month Season

A One Month Season

"The more I practice, the luckier I get." - Arnold Palmer
Middle school basketball in Tampa has a ONE month season – with perhaps 25 players out for the team. How do you practice basketball skills?  When do you practice and how long?  How do divide equal playing time between 25 kids?  Seems like a nightmare.  My hat goes off to all of the of the middle school coaches handling this challenge.
One month for grass-roots basketball is terribly insufficient and ends up hurting our kids. As one coach told me: “Right when the kids are catching on, the season is over. On top of that some barely got to play and now may not pick up a ball until next season.  We have to break the cycle!” So, to you parents, one answer is:  Get your youngster on a travel team and he WILL get game experience. (And Tampa has a tournament going on at least once a week.) 

Look for part 3 titled:  High School Hoops and More

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